GENBOX-L Archives

From: "William T. Flight" <>
Subject: Re: [GENBOX] Genbox problems (names)
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 17:34:38 -0500
References: <CHEMKKAJHOKJPIEOPLKDKEFIDFAA.clcasper@sprynet.com>

> Bill - Gordon's experience, as well as my own and that of some other
people
> who are taking a serious look at GenBox, is based on that of TMG. In that
> program you have a separate field for the Title, Prefix, GivenName,
> PreSurname, Surname, Suffix, OtherName *and* two fields for sorting
> purposes: SortSurname and SortGiven.
>
> Some of the issues may be with the use of foreign names. For example, my
> father-in-law's last name is Baz y Dresch. Now if I put in his name as
> Rafael Baz y Dresch, how does GenBox know which parts are the surname and
> which is the given name? Doesn't the possibility exist that "Dresch"
alone
> might be treated as the surname? Where would the "Baz y" part be placed?
> While it may be clear to GB how names should be handled, some of use are
> used to having fields that clearly define which part of a name should be
> considered as Given, Surname, PreSurname (things like von, van, vander,
> etc.), and so on. Maybe it is a matter of feeling that we have the
control
> over how each word of the name is treated within the program.

In Genbox, as well as GEDCOM and several other genealogy programs, the
convention is to delimit the surname portion with forward slashes, so a name
entered as Rafael /Baz y Dresch/ would have the surname clearly identified.
One advantage to using a single field for the name, rather than attempting
to break it down into a predefined set of parts, is that names from cultures
that put the surname other than at the end can be handled correctly. The
slashes are used on the Identifiers Page and on the name on the Summary
Page; they can optionally appear around all surnames in the program, but
they are normally hidden on fields where the name isn't editable.

Prefix titles, Suffix titles, and nicknames can be entered as separate name
parts.

What special handling is needed for surname prefixes? Do they always appear
in front of the surname, but are ignored for sort purposes? Is there
anything else special about them?

With this explanation, let me know if you think Genbox needs something else.

> The SortNames can be used in various ways because you have the option to
> sort your navigation list of people by primary name, nonprimary name, or
> both. If selecting both, you could have an individual sort by their
actual
> birth-given surname and assign an alternative for sorting purposes so that
> you can "clump" together families if desired. Hope this makes sense.

This sounds interesting; I'll take a look at their use in TMG.

-- Bill

William T. Flight
http://www.thoughtfulcreations.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cheri Casper" <>
To: <>
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 4:56 PM
Subject: RE: [GENBOX] Genbox problems

This thread:

• Re: [GENBOX] Place Names] by "SIMUNAC, JOE" <>
  • RE: [GENBOX] Place Names] by "Cheri Casper" <>
    • Re: [GENBOX] Private Events by "William T. Flight" <>
  • [GENBOX] Genbox problems by "Gordon Banks" <>